Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with scoliosis.
Scoliosis is a lateral deformity of the spine produced by rotation of the vertebral bodies. “Idiopathic” scoliosis occurs in otherwise healthy children, usually during the period of rapid growth at adolescence. It is the most common pediatric spinal deformity and has a prevalence of 2-3% in school age children. Two clear risk factors in IS are remaining growth potential, and female gender1. Inheritance is generally complex (MIM #181800), although some families with apparent Mendelian transmission have been described2. Genome wide scans in single families and family collections3-7, and chromosomal breakpoint mapping8 have tentatively identified several chromosomal regions that may contribute to disease; however, results of these studies have not clearly converged on any single region and IS susceptibility loci have remained elusive.
Despite years of study, few if any methods exist for the diagnosis of scoliosis. One of the few examples is United States Patent Application No. 20060015042, filed by Linial, et al., which teaches a method and apparatus for detection and measurement of scoliosis of the spine. Briefly, a method and apparatus for measuring the lateral curvature of a human spine is taught to detect the presence and degree of scoliosis in the patient. The device is said to be useable by non-medical personnel and medical practitioners, including doctors, chiropractors, physical therapists, nurses and the like. The system is said to be a low cost quick operating hand held device based on the operating structure of a standard computer mouse to determine immediately the curvature of the spine. The hand held device is used to scan the length of a patient's spine by contacting the patient's back as it is drawn along the length of the spine to provide a reading of the lateral curvature as X-Y coordinate information. The X-Y coordinate information is then graphed by a computer software program run on a standard computer. The software program allows repeated readings to be saved and compared over time.
Yet another method for the diagnosis of scoliosis is discussed in United States Patent Application No. 20050130250 by Moreau for a method of diagnosing adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and related syndromes. The method for diagnosing an increased risk for a scoliosis is by measuring dysfunction of the melatonin-signaling pathway in an animal comprising detecting the presence or absence of at least one impairment in melatonin-signaling pathway in at least one of the animal's cells. The presence of one impairment in melatonin-signaling pathway is said to indicate that the animal possesses an increased risk of developing scoliosis. The method of screening includes a compound useful in the treatment of a disease characterized by a dysfunctional melatonin-signaling pathway by contacting a candidate compound with at least one cell expressing at least one melatonin-signaling pathway impairment, wherein the candidate compound is selected if the melatonin signaling pathway impairment is reduced in the presence of the candidate compound as compared to that in the absence thereof.
Despite years of effort toward the diagnosis of pre-existing scoliosis, there exists a need for methods to diagnose scoliosis prior to the onset of symptoms. Early diagnosis of the possibility of scoliosis would permit physicians to monitor, evaluate and correct before or upon the onset of changes is spinal curvature. Early diagnosis is most likely to decrease the effect of the scoliosis, maximize the opportunity for treatment and reduce the length and extent of treatment.